New York State of Mind

I have been a failure at keeping up with blogging...mostly because I've been feeling very uninspired. Today, however, I looked through my pictures from New York and felt a spark of inspiration come back.

For years, I have heard people sing about New York, make movies in and about New York, and talk about New York as if it's a timeless celebrity that is to be regarded with the utmost esteem. I've heard people talk about it as if it held some magical power to all who enter it's atmosphere and that simply being in the city would change your life forever. With all of these illusions about the Big Apple, NYC became this sort of untouchable and unfathomable place. I mean, I've traveled my fair share, but there was something about New York that seemed light years out of my realm. So, naturally, I needed to see what all the fuss was about. To my utter amazement, I didn't need a time machine, mystery Volkswagen, or magic school bus to get there...just a $170 plane ticket and a few days off of work.

I was a bit nervous going to the big city. The city itself didn't scare me all that much; it was more a fear of my illusion being shattered. All I learned of New York was what I saw in movies (see previous post) or TV shows like Sex and the City, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, and Law & Order: SVU. I mean, I realize these shows are fictional, but New York plays a role so important it's almost as if it's the main character. So, New York became like an allusive man...something I was greatly looking forward to seeing, but secretly hoping that it wouldn't disappoint my expectations.

Upon first stepping foot into Times Square, I knew my illusion would be safe. It's quite shocking to see that many lights and gigantic billboards in one place. It's also amazing to see how many different people can collaborate in a five block radius.

The best thing about New York is that nobody is actually from there. They're either tourists or they came to the city from somewhere else. Walking down Broadway is a cultural experience akin to spending a day at Ellis Island in 1909, I would imagine (you know, without the health inspections, custom checkpoints, and everything you own attached to your person.) So many different languages, customs, places to be, things to do, dreams to live out. Sheer amazement. Where I grew up, it's so homogeneous. Unique traits are chastised and dreams are pushed aside for productivity. In New York, it seems to be just the opposite. It's a place where everyone goes to find something. It's also a place where you can be exactly who you want to be. It's not strange to see a woman in fur pushing a dog in a stroller through a store where nothing costs less than $300. It's not an oddity to see the teacher from Glee walk down 39th St. as if he's just another guy. Bartenders in an Irish pub are actually from Ireland and consider themselves blessed to have made it to this place. In this respect, New York does seem magical, because it offers opportunity, no matter what you're looking for.

One thing that was surprising to me was how much smaller everything seems to be. I mean, the buildings are huge and all, but there's a lot of stuff crammed into not a very spread out piece of land. I mean, I knew Manhattan wasn't all that big, which is why they keep building "up" and not "out", but walking from Times Square to Central Park is about 20 blocks and like a 35 minute walk. The Meat Packing district, SoHo, and the West Village all seemed to be within about 10 blocks of each other (don't take my word on this...I suck at navigating and guesstimating). My point is that everything seems so accessible and I didn't expect that. Embark on a 10 minute walk or $5 cab ride and you will inevitably end up in a neighborhood exactly opposite of the one you were just in. It's incredible.

Really, at the end of the day, I was a tourist. I didn't see all of NYC. I don't think you could live there forever and see it all. Neighborhoods and culture changes so rapidly that it's impossible to keep up. I didn't experience what it was like to live there and I likely never will, but it didn't take me long to catch the essence of the city. It's so totally opposite from what I'm used to, so maybe that's what the appeal was for me. I have a feeling however, that New York didn't get its infamy from being a great place to see on vacation. It's quite possibly the most culturally diverse place on the planet, which in my world, makes it endlessly interesting. I hope now that New York and I have become acquainted with each other that we can maintain a semi-regular relationship. As much as I would love to live there and experience life as a New Yorker, my bravery only extends so far and I don't think I could do it on my own. So, I'll just have to settle for having a New York state of mind and visit my dreamland on occasion.

Rating of NYC: 5 out of 5 stars